Editions

Sunderland v Swansea City: Trio could return for hosts

Sunderland are set to be buoyed by a trio of returning players for their Premier League clash with Swansea City at the Stadium of Light.

Share

Written ByLuke Sheehan

height="148">

Gus Poyet's men lost 2-1 to Stoke City in the League Cup on
Tuesday, but could see forwards Steven Fletcher and Connor
Wickham, as well as midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini, return
from knocks.

Defender Sebastian Coates, however, will likely miss out through
injury after being substituted at half-time during his club
debut on Tuesday.

"We have a few injuries for the first time in the season, with
Steven Fletcher out and Connor Wickham pulling out [on Tuesday]
morning – it is nothing serious but it is another player we lost at
the front and we hope we can recover and be stronger on Saturday,"
Poyet said after their cup defeat.

"[Coates] was feeling it a little bit so it was right to take
him off.

"I think that, apart from Sebastian, the rest will be back if
everything goes alright, so let's hope we can have as many players
as possible available for the next game."

Swansea recorded a convincing double over Sunderland last season
- picking up 4-0 and 3-1 wins over the Wearside club.

Sunderland have only beaten Swansea once since the latter's
promotion into the Premier League in 2011, although the Welsh
side's 3-1 win at the Stadium of Light in May signified their first
goals at the venue.

Swansea picked up their first-ever win over Everton on Tuesday
to book their place in the League Cup fourth round, where they will
face further Merseyside opposition in the form of Liverpool.

The 3-0 triumph followed back-to-back Premier League defeats to
Chelsea and Southampton, but coach Garry Monk says Swansea never
lost confidence in their own abilities.

"The mojo wasn't lost, the morale hadn't gone," he
insisted. "The boys are fine, the same level as they were at
the start of the season and every game because of the way we've
performed.

"We're a group together, playing for each other, which is how we
want it.

"Wins give you momentum and it's nice to go into the next game
with a win behind you, but we're not concentrating on
that. We're looking at performance levels every day and in
games which have been there every time."

Wilfried Bony was sent off during Swansea's defeat to
Southampton last weekend, but is back in contention after serving
his one-game ban against Everton in the cup.

Midfielder Leon Britton (knee) remains sidelined, while Jordi
Amat (knee) is also out, but Ki Sung-yueng should be in line to
feature at the ground where he spent last season on loan.